Peter Wright survived a valiant fightback from Adrian Lewis to clinch victory in the first UK Open qualifying event of the season at the Robin Park Tennis Centre in Wigan on Friday afternoon.

There were almost 250 players battling it out for the £10,000 winner’s cheque in the first of three UK Open qualifying events to be played this weekend, ahead of the UK Open in March.

Lewis won the first UK Open qualifier twelve months ago and appeared poised to repeat the feat after coming from 4-1 behind to level proceedings at 4-4. The two-time world champion also had the advantage of throw, but Wright held his nerve to seal the triumph and kick off his Pro Tour campaign in sensational style.

The final began in blistering fashion, as Wright converted a 96 finish to break throw inside 12 darts. Lewis levelled moments later after producing a brilliant 99 checkout which culminated with two successive tops, but the topsy-turvy nature of the contest continued as ‘Snakebite’ dispatched a 76 kill for the third successive break of throw.

The world number three secured the first hold of the final with a 13-darter on tops, before an error-strewn fifth leg ensued. Both players spurned opportunities at double, but Wright pegged D2 for a double-break to seize total control.

The Scot fired in his first maximum and seemed destined to move 5-1 ahead, but he missed two darts at tops to hold as Lewis registered a 13-darter to reduce the deficit to 4-2. ‘Snakebite’ posted back-to-back maximums as he attempted to rectify matters but he wasn’t afforded a dart at double, as ‘Jackpot’ converted a 76 kill for a 14-dart hold.

Wright was plagued by further double-trouble in the eighth leg as Lewis found D4 to record his third straight leg and level the contest. The Stoke star’s joy was short-lived however; the Scot wrestled back the initiative with a nerveless 68 outshot, before rounding-off a 13-darter on D16 to clinch his first ranking title since March 2016.

Earlier in the day, Wright overcame a host of established names to reach the final. Snakebite eased past Michael Barnard in his opening match, before seeing off his fellow countryman Mark Barilli in an attritional tussle to reach round-four.

Wright edged past his Premier League colleague James Wade in a last-leg decider to reach the last 16, where he thrashed former Lakeside world champion Mark Webster by an emphatic 6-1 scoreline.

The Scot then defeated another former Lakeside champion Steve Beaton 6-3 to reach the semi-finals, where he then whitewashed ‘The Rock’ Peter Hudson. However, Hudson performed superbly to secure his UK Open qualification, whitewashing Mervyn King and dumping out Benito van de Pas en route to sealing £2,500 in prize money.

Elsewhere, Lewis kicked off proceedings with an impressive whitewash win over Robert Owen. ‘Jackpot’ then battled past Mark Frost 6-4, before edging out Spanish star Cristo Reyes in a deciding-leg to reach round-five. Lewis faced Raymond van Barneveld in the last 16, in a repeat of their Premier League clash less than 24 hours earlier.

Van Barneveld had beaten Matt Padgett, Paul Nicholson and Dirk van Duijvenbode to reach this stage, but the Stoke star gained revenge for Thursday’s defeat against the Dutchman by capitalising on Barney’s double-trouble to record an emphatic 6-1 win.

Lewis faced Kyle Anderson in the last eight, after the Australian ace enjoyed a welcome return to Pro Tour action. However, the two-time world champion recorded his second straight 6-1 win to reach the semi-finals and set up a clash with ‘Rapid’ Ricky Evans.

Evans had beaten Mark Forman, Ron Meulenkamp, Bernd Roith, Lee Bryant, Alan Tabern, John Michael and William O’Connor to reach the last four. Nevertheless, his marathon run came to an end as Lewis reeled off four consecutive legs to recover from 4-2 down to edge out the Kettering ace.

The biggest shock of the day saw world number one Michael van Gerwen dumped out in the last 64 by Ritchie Edhouse. Edhouse secured his PDC Tour Card at Q-School last month and edged out the Dutchman in a nerve-jangling last-leg decider, to inflict Van Gerwen’s first defeat since mid-October; a run spanning an incredible 33 matches.

In addition, Premier League star Kim Huybrechts suffered a surprise defeat to South African star Devon Petersen at the same stage, whilst Simon Whitlock and Stephen Bunting were comprehensively beaten by Rob Cross and Jay Foreman respectively in the last 128.

World number two Gary Anderson was beaten in the last 32 by his compatriot John Henderson, whilst James Wade and Dave Chisnall were beaten at the same stage by their fellow Premier League stars Wright and Jelle Klaasen respectively.

However, it was an excellent day for some lesser-known names. Greek number one John Michael reached the last 16 to virtually guarantee his UK Open qualification, whilst youngster Matthew Dennant also reached the same stage. Former World Championship finalist Kirk Shepherd also reached round-five before succumbing to Peter Hudson.

Saturday sees the PDC ProTour weekend continue with the second of three £60,000 Coral UK Open Qualifiers this weekend, with over 240 players poised to be in action. The full list of results from today’s qualifier can be viewed below.